Linn | Design for manufacture
Who are Linn?
Linn design and make some of the world’s highest quality sound systems. Their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 record player, was launched in 1972, setting a new standard in high end HiFi. The Sondek LP12 is the longest-lived HiFi product in the world and the benchmark by which all other turntables are judged.
The Business Need
Linn asked 4c Design to provide engineering resource to supplement their internal R&D team in order to meet a tight launch deadline for a special edition of the Sondek LP12.
Our Activities and Deliverables
4c worked closely alongside Linn’s in-house team to engineer a stable and rigid sub-chassis for the update to the Sondek LP12. This would allow the arm and cartridge to read more from the vinyl record and improve the audio quality. Linn’s engineers had identified three components within the turntable that they wanted to combine into a single component to be machined from billet aluminium. 4c Design’s task was to design this new part for manufacturing whilst keeping within stringent design constraints for functionality, weight and centre of gravity. As experienced engineers and Solidworks CAD experts we were able to quickly understand the underlying principles and constraints of the LP12 in order to engineer a new design in time to meet Linn’s product launch deadline.
The Result
The overriding success of the project was the launch of the Keel: the name Linn gave to the single machined element that replaced the three formerly separate parts. The Keel has sold well as an upgrade to both new and existing customers and provided a strong return on Linn’s investment in design.
The LP12 SE, including the Keel, has won several prestigious awards with judges commenting that, “The LP12 SE assumes a place among the world’s best vinyl players, providing one of the most impressive high-end audio experiences available.”
“Working with the engineering department at Linn has a lot more to it than just sitting in front of a CAD terminal drawing lines, what impressed me was the guys at 4c took the time to understand the ethos behind the way we work, they got to know Linn the brand, the people, and most importantly what we expect in terms of quality and excellence.”
David Williamson – Linn Mechanical Engineering Manager
Capabilities Utilised
- Mechanical engineering
- Design for manufacture